In conflict situations, military vehicles and their personnel cabins are frequently the subject of high impact activities, including shock waves from a mine blast or impact between two objects, such as a vehicle crash. These events can subject the structures forming the vehicles and cabins, and the connection points or bolt connects holding these structures together to large sheer stresses, which could cause the connections to fail. For example, high impact blasts can apply large shear stresses to the bolted connections holding the walls and flooring together to create the personnel cabin of the vehicle, resulting in damage or destruction of the personnel cabin. Additionally, impact to the vehicle, in the form of collisions with another vehicle or an object, may also cause the connections to fail.
Current solutions that attempt to avoid structural failure in the event of a high impact activity, events is to add more bolts or even larger bolts to the connection points securing the structures together. However, failure of even a few of the bolted connections may result in a weakened overall structure, and leave the structure vulnerable to additional damage or destruction before repairs can be made. Alternatively, the bolted connections can be replaced by a welded joint connection, which eliminates the ability to repair or service the components, but allows for the panels to be secured together.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and device that transfers the loading forces resulting from a high impact event away from the connection points securing the cabin structures together. The present device provides components engage one another for attaching surfaces or structures together to form the personnel cabin, using the same number or possibly fewer numbers of bolts or connection members to secure the structures, while permitting improved loading force transfer or diversion away from the structural connection points. The loading forces are taken off the connection bolts and transferred through high strength material, dispersing the load between the structures. The present system and device also permits personnel to mechanically attach a separate blast solution component or components to the vehicle only when required, thereby reducing the weight of the overall attachment mechanism.